Adelaide builder fined $150k after 30-tonne wall crushed neighbour's home

The South Australian Employment Court fined Smart Built Pty Ltd $150,000 and recorded a conviction over the November 28, 2023 collapse at Wayville, in Adelaide's inner south. A 30-tonne section of precast concrete wall came down on the rear of the neighbouring home during severe weather, landing on the back 60 centimetres of the house and most of its outdoor living area.

The mother needed stitches to her knee and her baby escaped with superficial cuts, but the ruling noted the injuries could have been far worse. Other sections of the under-supported wall, the court said, loomed over the rest of the family's home while victim impact statements described the profound toll on both of them.

Smart Built was building a three-storey residential development with 10-metre-high precast panels held up by temporary propping. According to the ruling, the company asked for that propping to be removed about two weeks before the collapse for better site access, and no engineer inspected the panels or their permanent structural support beforehand. The design drawings state the panels must stay propped until wall bracing goes in.

The damage bill tells its own story: $85,413.82 to the structure and $19,211 to contents. The company also paid the affected neighbours $10,000 for the inconvenience of ongoing building works and helped arrange repairs through the family's insurer.

The court accepted the conduct wasn't deliberate or reckless, but called it mid-range in seriousness given the risk of death or extremely serious injury to multiple people. It also accepted the company's evidence of overhauled safety systems and its stated intention not to use precast panels again.